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| QN tower is at the crossing of the C&O and Monon north of LaCrosse, Indiana. The tower opened in 1903 and closed on Oct. 7, 1932. I assume this was due to the Depression. I don’t know what kind of crossing protection was used until 1948 when Wade Tower was built. Wade is a brick tower that is still standing, but unused. Photo is courtesy of M. D. McCarter Photographs; please check our links page for his catalog. |
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| This postcard of the Monon/New York Central depot at San Pierre, Indiana is interesting because of all the small details shown. You are looking northeast across the diamonds of the Monon (two tracks) and NYC (single track). Looking left to right you can see the spare diamond that used to be at nearly every crossing, next you can see some sort of an out building and a Lucky Strike billboard. At the depot, the Monon appears to be replacing the T.O. board with a new one, note the mast with no blades. There is a baggage wagon at the depot and three loads of coal at the elevator. On the right is the freight transfer house with a crate on a cart. Front and center is the gate that the train crews had to use to protect their movement over the crossing. Postcard from John Orem/HVRM collection. |
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| Dillon, Indiana was in the middle of nowhere, but supposedly at one time a very small community was there. The Wabash and the Nickel Plate’s IMC division crossed here and we are looking north on the NKP. This tower was built about 1924 and may be the second tower for this location since the crossing was interlocked on July 28, 1893. The crossing was automated in 1948 or 1949 and the tower closed. Photo from Jon Schmidt collection |
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| I am going on some assumptions on this photo. As you can see the postcard (postmarked in 1909) says “C&S RR Sta. Walkerton, Ind.”. I am guessing it really means CI&S (Chicago, Indiana & Southern). The depot is loaded on a flat car; you can make out the word “Central” on the flat car. While looking for some other information, I noticed that in 1900 the Lake Erie & Western didn’t have a depot at Tyner, which is about six miles from Walkerton. By the 1910s Tyner had a depot, which appears identical to the one in the photo. Another photo I have, from about the same time period, shows the CI&S depot in Walkerton as a larger building. Since both lines were under New York Central control at the time did the old CI&S depot get relocated to Tyner when the new depot was built? Postcard from Bob Albert collection |
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| This picture shows the original Vandalia depot at Grass Creek, Indiana. The photo is dated about 1903-04 and later burned. The people in the picture are (l-r) Burt Hizer, Elmer Hizer, Tom Waddups, Jack Waddups, Charles Edgerton (agent) and Joe Loofborough. An old box car is used as a freight room. Photo provided by the Grass Creek Lions Club. |
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| During 1915-1916 Robert Grace Contracting Company made a sizable cut at Palmer, Indiana for the Erie’ realignment project. Most people have never heard of “MS” tower, which is shown behind the steam shovels. This was when the Erie was doing a grade reduction and realignment project. Photo from HVRM collection |
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| West of Hulbert, Indiana the Erie’s contractors constructed a large trestle to reduce grades in the area. The trestle later had fill dumped around it. This realignment project was between Kouts and Crown Point and also eliminated an old sinking bridge near Palmer. Also, some bridges were rebuilt east of Kouts. Photo from Bob Albert collection |
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| The image on this old lithograph postcard is not very good, but pictures of the Lake Erie & Western yard at Tipton, Indiana are so rare I decided to use it anyway. The track on the left appear to be the main track, also on the left is what appears to be a coal pile. In the front center is an ash pit and cinder conveyor. In the center is the turntable with the roundhouse to the right; behind all of this you can see the yard. Tipton was a division point on the LE&W and Nickel Plate until 1933 when it was moved to Frankfort. Postcard from Bob Albert collection |
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| On August 24, 1942 a Pennsy westbound train cleared the Plymouth, Indiana interlocking plant and stopped in the westward passing track. The tower operator lined up a northbound Nickel Plate train, as the NKP train approached the crossing, the PRR train decided to shove back. No one was properly protecting the back-up move and they shoved through the derail and onto the diamond where a gondola car derailed. (continued on next photo) |
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| The Nickel Plate train, running about 18 mph, hit the gondola near center and shoved it about 120 feet north of the diamond. The remains of the gondola, which was reportedly carrying steel plates, is shown here. Two PRR brakeman and the NKP engineer were injured in this wreck. Both photos from the Bob Albert collection) |
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| OM tower was located 2.1 miles west of Plymouth, Indiana at a location called Morrison. I don’t believe there was ever any town, but it was the west end of two 249 car-passing tracks. OM was made remote control from Plymouth about 1930. Morrison became known as West Plymouth by the Pennsy and Penn Central, Conrail renamed it Rock (as in Plymouth Rock). Photo from Almy Awald collection. |
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| The freight house at Winamac, Indiana was built by Pennsylvania predecessor Chicago and Great Eastern in 1862. This building is the oldest surviving Pennsy structure in the state of Indiana. The man standing in front of “Shaw’s Shack” is probably Shaw himself. This building is now used by the local historical society and houses a model railroad layout and other displays with an Erie caboose outside. Photo is from the Emory Kinney collection. |
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| It’s not often you
get to see the old and new side by side, but we have that here. In 1910 the B&O built a
new brick depot in Nappanee, Indiana to replace the frame depot, which is behind the new
one in the picture. The new depot is nearing completion and is still standing after
ninety years. Amtrak served the depot until Nappanee ceased being an Amtrak stop about
a year ago. Postcard from the Bob Albert collection. |
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| Kokomo, Indiana was
located on the Pennsylvania’s Panhandle line between Logansport and Cincinnati. The
Pennsy passenger and freight depot is shown as it appeared on October 10, 1934. I
believe the depot burned in the 1960s. I anyone can confirm the date of the demise of
the depot, please e-mail the HVRM. Photo from the Bob Albert collection. |
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| This apparently new
Nickel Plate bridge is somewhere in the state of Indiana. At first I thought it was on
the IMC Division north of LaPorte, but an inspection of the bridge at that location
proved otherwise. The photo was taken by the Indiana Department of Conservation,
apparently in the 1940s. Any help in identifying this bridge would be appreciated.
Please e-mail the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum. Photo from the Bob Albert collection. |
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| The Nickel Plate Road
and the Pere Marquette interchanged at Belfast, Indiana. In earlier times a two-story
depot stood at the diamond, but on this day in the 1940s only a small maintainers shed
stands. PM 2-8-2 1004 has cut away from it’s train and is crossing the diamond, probably
to pick up cars from the NKP. The crossing was gate protected until the PM was
abandoned, you can see the gate to the left of 1004’s headlight. The 1004 was built by
Baldwin in 1913 and was retired in June 1948, never being renumbered as a C&O engine.
Photo is courtesy of M. D. McCarter Photographs, please check our links page for his
catalog. |
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| Clerk Sam (Bud) R.
Childs and agent C. Ross Lee pose at the new 3-I depot in Hamlet, Indiana. This depot
was built in 1911, replacing one destroyed by fire earlier in the year. Looking north,
HA tower is on the right at the PFtW&C crossing. Photo from Almy Awald collection. |
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| It’s a rainy day at
the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern depot at LaPorte, Indiana. This depot was probably
built about 1853 at the same time the railroad was built though LaPorte. The depot also
had a hotel on the second floor. The building was destroyed by fire in 1907 and was
replaced with the present depot. Photo is from an unknown contributor. |
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| Nickel Plate train 86
climbs out of the Wabash River valley north of Peru, Indiana. Engineer C. V. Gross
certainly had his work cut out for him, as this train has just left the yard at the
bottom of this 1.6 per cent grade. The railroad has been removed between Rochester and
Kokomo. This photo appeared on the cover of the Nickel Plate employee magazine’s
May/June 1960 issue. NKP photo. |
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| A tower operator hard at work.
J. J. (Romey) Gearhart was the operator on the day this photo was taken, probably in the
1920s. HA tower was located at Hamlet, Indiana at the crossing of the New York Central and
Pennsylvania railroads. Take a look around the office, wouldn’t it be great to be able
visit this place. Photo from Almy Awald collection. |
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| This is the tower
that controlled the Pennsy and Nickel Plate crossing at Bunker Hill, Indiana. This 1941
view is looking west and you can see the Pennsy depot and the Elm Street overpass. A
person would not be able to identify this location today, as the tower, tracks, depot
and bridge are gone. Photo is courtesy of M. D. McCarter Photographs; please check our
links page for his catalog. |
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| The Pennsy and Monon crossed at
Reynolds, Indiana and used this depot. The depot appears to be a standard Panhandle
design and parallels the track going across the picture, so that makes me believe the
train is on the Monon. Postcard from Bob Albert collection. |
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| This is a rare view
of the Nickel Plate facilities at Brems, Indiana. You are looking west; the section
foreman's house is on the near left with a mail crane in front. Note the extension on
the Western Union line pole. Past the house is a box car freight house and the depot.
There were also other boxcars near the depot that were used as housing for laborers.
The passing track on the right was removed during World War 2. Photo from Almy Awald
collection. |
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| This postcard entitled
"A WONDERFULL TIME SAVER IN TRACK BUILDING" was mailed on July 31, 1912 from Bremen,
Indiana to Garrett, Indiana. The message reads, "Hello Kiddo. I am still in Bremen. I
guess I will be here the rest of the week. We had our pictures taken, can you see me? I
just had a squirrel dinner, don't I look fat? We are living pretty high. You can look
for me Sat. night - Be a good girl. Love and Kisses, Jess." The card is addressed to
Mrs. J. B. Bitwall. Jess must have worked for the B&O on the crew of the Jordan
spreader and Mrs. Bitwall must have been his wife. The postcard is from the Russell
Dove collection. |
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This photo shows agent C. R. Lee at
the original Indiana, Illinois & Iowa depot at Hamlet, Indiana. The view is looking north toward the
tower at the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago crossing. Built about 1895, this depot was destroyed by
fire in 1911 and was replaced with a more modern building in the same year. Photo from Almy Awald
collection. |
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The clean up and repair to the
Pennsy depot is underway from a train wreck on December 21, 1956. When the train derailed it destroyed
the Railway Express Agency office and damaged the freight room area of the depot along with destroying
the bay window. When the depot was rebuilt the bay window was omitted, the REA office was not rebuilt.
Photo from Bob Jachim. |
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On March 22, 1958, B&O 4-8-2 720
is eastbound with a passenger train at Walkerton, Indiana. The train is crossing the New York Central
and is about to cross the Nickel Plate. The tower and freight house stand in a triangle between the
three railroads. The freight house is gone but, the tower is still standing. The top floor burned in
the 1960s and the tower was rebuilt with only two floors. Photo by Sandy Goodrick. |
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The Wabash depot at Wakarusa,
Indiana was built about 1893 and was a rather large and ornate structure. Sometime in it’s life the
passenger waiting room was removed from the building, dramatically altering it’s appearance. In the
late 1970s, the depot was moved across the street and became the center of the Wakarusa Historical
Society museum. Postcard from Bob Albert collection. |
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The Pennsylvania Railroad had
track pans at Davis Station, which is west of Hamlet, Indiana near the Kankakee River. Steam
locomotives could scoop water on the fly, thus avoiding a stop for water. This photo shows a crew
of men keeping the ice out of the pans in the late 1920s or early 1930s. Some of the granite
stones from these pans were used to build the horse and pony barn at the Hamlet fair grounds
The view is looking east and you can see the pump house on the right. Photo from Almy Awald
collection |
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Three railroads crossed at the
tiny town of Wilders, Indiana. This newspaper clipping shows the freight house, depot, tower and an
unidentified building. The Erie ran east – west between the depot and freight house, The Monon ran
north –south past the freight house and tower, and the Chicago, Attica & Southern ran north –
south on the west side of the depot and freight house. The CA&S crossed the Monon just north of
here and paralleled it to LaCrosse. Traces of all three railroads can still be seen at this
location. Clipping provided by Elmer Mannen. |
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Nickel Plate Road 2-8-2 624 has
been seen by many people rusting away at Hammond Civic Center, here is the 624 in better time
passing the Otterbein, Indiana depot on November 16, 1952. I am guessing this westbound freight is
a local because of the rider car and it’s short length. Photo by Sandy Goodrick. |
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We are way out of northern
Indiana with this picture; in fact we are at Huntingburg, Indiana on the Ferdinand Railroad. The
occasion is the last run of a passenger train on the railroad on August 24, 1952. The train is at
the Southern Railway depot. The passenger car, #305, was built as an interurban trailer and was
purchased in 1939. The steam engine, #9, was purchased from the LNA&C in 1951. Both were scrapped
in 1953. Photo by Wilfred Nickel and information from Craig Berndt. |
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Plenty of milk cans are
awaiting the arrival of the Lake Erie & Western train at Tyner, Indiana. The depot was on the
northeast corner of the railroad tracks and French Street. This line later became the
Nickel Plate Road’s Indianapolis – Michigan City Division. Arbrey Bryant is the man in the
photo. Photo is from a newspaper clipping. |
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Eastbound Nickel Plate
2-8-4s 741 and 764 have just crossed the Michigan Central, passed the depot and are about to
cross Washington Street. A person can tell from the exhaust that the 700s are working hard. The
train is probably #56 (CB12). The South Gary, Indiana depot telegraph call is “JO”.
Photo is from the Perry Lucas family. |
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The eastbound South Shore
train has just crossed the Nickel Plate at Michigan City, Indiana while a southbound NKP train
waits in the clear. The Shops Station in just out of the photo on the right. This crossing was
not interlocked and both railroads were required to stop at the crossing. The photo is undated,
but would after 1959, when the NKP adopted the simplified paint scheme.
Photo from the HVRM collection. |
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Plenty of wooden timbers were
used in building the approach to the Ohio Electric’s bridge of the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne &
Chicago’s tracks west of Monroeville, Indiana. You can see the PFtW&C depot on the right, in the
background. I would guess that the electric line intended to fill the trestle with dirt.
The concrete bridge abutments are still there and the former PFtW&C is now a single-track
railroad. Postcard view from Bob Albert collection. |
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This Pennsylvania
depot at Etna Green, Indiana was probably built by the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago
in the 1870s. It was replaced about 1914 with a similar size depot that appeared to be a
standard Pennsy design. The elevator behind the depot is still being used. Postcard view
from Bob Albert collection. |
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If some Monon fan can
tell me the history of this depot at Monon, Indiana it would be greatly appreciated. I
do know that a limestone depot was built at this location during the McDoel era. In 1953
a brick depot was built at the same location after a 1951 train wreck demolished the
limestone structure. Postcard view from Bob Albert collection. |
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Sometime between 1946
and 1949, Nickel Plate 2-8-2 #669 was northbound past the Walkerton, Indiana depot.
Notice the rider car behind the tender; this was used for an extra brakeman (also called
listman) and LCL freight. Also notice the white pilot truck wheels, this is an
indication that the wheels had recently been checked for cracks. Photo is courtesy
of M. D. McCarter Photographs; please check our links page for his catalog. |
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The New York Central
coal dock and water tank was located north of state road 10, west of North Judson,
Indiana. The facility was built in 1923, replacing a ramp type coal dock that dated
from the 1890s. I don't have a clue to why the men and women are dressed up. Photo
courtesy of Bob Jachim. |
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Anyone remember
Dodge's Institute of Telegraphy at Valparaiso, Indiana? To become a telegraph operator,
person could learn telegraphy, typewriting and penmanship at this school. The Grand
Trunk Western had a train wire installed in the school for instruction of advanced
students. Postcard from the Hoosier Valley RR Museum collection. |
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On September 6, 1952,
Nickel Plate 2-8-4 #765 storms through Willvale, Indiana with the first section of train
#56. This was a train of mostly refrigerator cars and judging from the smoke trail, it
is moving at the 60 mph speed limit. Don't bother trying to find Willvale on your
current state highway map, but it will show on much older maps. The community is long
gone; it was where state road #39 crosses the tracks between Brems and Hayville. How's
that for pinning the location down, it is west of Knox. Sandy Goodrick took the photo. |
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A Vandalia passenger
train is crossing the B&O at LaPaz Jct., Indiana. This photo is not very good, but is a
seldom seen scene. The B&O is being double tracked at the time of the photo; you can see
the new tower and rods at the left. In the center is the old tower that will be closed
soon. On the right is the Vandalia depot (with outhouse), which is a standard design
except it is bent at the bay window to accommodate the junction. Hibbard also had an
identical depot. Photo is from an old newspaper. |
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In the spring of
1964, the Nickel Plate Road is still providing high speed service for its customers,
as shown by the blurred RS36 on the eastbound extra. GP30 #900 is making a set out and
pick up from the Argos, Indiana yard. The trainman waves a friendly greeting to the
eastbound as he inspects the train on the south side. In October 1964 the NKP will be
merged into the N&W and scene like this will cease to exist. Photo by Bob Albert. |
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